Megaman Reimagined: The Hero With The Heart Of Steel
by Protagonist7
Summary: A reimagining of the classic MegaMan. Kind of like a combination of Eddie Lebron's movie and Iron Man. In the near future, a brilliant scientist and industrialist, Dr. Light, has invented robots made to change the world, but when they are used for evil, he must send his son to stop them...
1. 20XX

Megaman Reimagined

The news shows sang out to the world in 2035.

_Noble Prize winning scientists Dr. Thomas Xavier Light, the father of quantum computing and the CEO of Light Industries, is going to be interviewed inside Light Industries headquarters in Monsteropolis,Oregon. There we will ask questions such as blah blah blah_

The interviewers walked off an elevator and were greeted to a giant window overlooking the city from Light Industry's high-rise tower.

A girl with blond hair appearing to be in her twenties wearing a red dress approached them. "Hi there! I'm Roll!" She said "My father's lab is this way!"

The interviewer spoke up "We had no idea the Doctor had any children! Nice to meet you!" said the interviewer, following her into the lab. Dr. Light was working on a machine resembling a 'skeletal' robotic arm. He was wearing a lab coat and a welding mask. Sensing their presence, he turned around and flipped his welding mask upwards. He had a grayish beard and was wearing glasses.

"Oh! Is it time for the interview!?" he said warmly.

"You betcha!" said the interviewer, signaling the crew to fire up the cameras. "So, some people have called you the Bill Gates of our time, what do you think?"

"Well, I'd describe myself much more modestly, I'm only barely a billionaire, and most of it I never spend." answered the Doctor.

Everyone in the room laughed. "So, your company has created things like teleportation, mettools, sniper joes, energy weapons what's the next big thing to come out of Light Industries?"

"Well, you'll have to see for yourself…" answered Dr. Light.


	2. Masters

MR Chapter 2

The interviewers walked into the room. There were 6 androids standing there in a row on the concrete floor. Dr. Light spoke up

"These are the 6 Robot Masters: The future of robotics. Their on-board computers will be the servers of robots and lesser machines, allowing them to monitor hundreds of processes at a time. They have plasma shields so that they are nearly indestructible. They're more intelligent than any machine ever created, ever." He said.

He pointed to one robot master, an orange one with a red chest, and a metallic structure resembling a red Mohawk. "BombMan is capable of generating explosives out of plasma. He will be used to oversee demolition."

Pointing to a large hulking robot black robot that had Tonka-truck yellow hands, feet, and helmet, he said "GutsMan is stronger than a semi-truck, weighing about a ton and being able to carry 30 times his own weight. He will be used for mining and construction."

Pointing to a robot that looked like a pail man in a snow suit, he said "Ice Man is able to expel cold air and freeze things. He will be used to oversee oil drilling in Alaska"

Then there was a black android with a thunderbolt painted on its chest. "Elec Man can redistribute incredible amounts of electricity. This makes him useful for monitoring power grids."

Then they came to a robot resembling a knight with robotic pinchers. "Torch Man has flamethrowers built into his hands, and will be used for garbage disposal."

And at last there was a red robot that had blades attached to his hands and a pair of shears attached to his head. "Cut Man is able to cut through steel with those blades of his. He will be used for logging and deforestation"

The interviewer spoke up. "Wow, this is truly amazing, and uh...we're out of time! This was Fox News, see you tomorrow morning with more boring news nobody cares about" She said. She turned to Light "Thank you so much for this opportunity…so, exactly how…human are they?"

"Well, they're only machines, but they're very intelligent, and are capable of emulating human emotions. Not the greatest examples of human mimicry, though, that'd be Roll over there." He answered as Roll waved "Hello"

"What!?" said the interviewer, shocked.

"Yeah, that's a typical reaction. She mimics human behavior almost perfectly, and you'd have to pretty much open her up to tell she's a robot." said Dr. Light.


	3. Light's Shadow

MegaMan Reimagined Chapter 3: In Light's Shadow

A few weeks later, the CFO of Light Industries, Dr. Albert Wily, walked into the storage room. He looked at the robot masters, and sighed. He had created the hardware of the robot masters. They were, at least partially, his invention. That interview was originally going to be his, but Fox News insisted that they speak with Light. Light had a habit of stealing credit for his work. Everyone knew about Light, He was beginning to resent him.

He was stress testing GutsMan by having him drag a robotic truck moving in the opposite direction. He had always admired this particular robot. It was the apex of his creations thus far. It always obeyed orders and called him "sir!". None of that "higher functions override given instructions." bullcrap, it just did what it was told. You could make it do anything short of disassemble itself. A very polite, obedient robot…and strong too.

And, write of the devil, Dr. Light walked in. "Hey! Dr. Wily, how's it going?" He asked, offering his hand.

Ignoring it, Wily said "oh, fine, I just wanted to check on the robot masters to make sure they were working properly, I wouldn't want them to blow a fuse once after they've been packed up!"

Suddenly, sparks went off inside the robot's arm. Wily went over and checked it. "The energy shields in its arm overloaded" he said. The energy shielding also helped gave GutsMan his strength by contracting or expanding like a muscle might.

Dr. Light looked at it and said "Hmm…It's not supposed to work itself enough to be damaged. This might be a programming error. I'll fix it tomorrow….Hey, I wanted to tell you something. I want to work on another personal project"

Wily raised an eyebrow. "Like Roll?" he asked.

"Yes, another human mimic. I want this one to be male, though." said Light.

Wily sighed. "And how do you know it won't malfunction like Blues did?"

Light didn't like to talk about Blues. "Well, ProtoMan was an experiment, he had no AI shackling like the robot masters." AI shackles were programs that forced a robot's behavior to work within certain parameters.

Wily spoke up "Ah, AI shackling. Yeah, I suppose those have proven infallible."There was little data to show that AI shackling actually worked, as it was a relatively new invention. "Well, I suppose I can't stop you. When do you want to get started?"

Light interjected "that's the thing, I want to work on both the hardware and software for this one. It's nothing personal, but I think I'd rather have you working on maintaining the robot masters."

Wily was appalled. Now, even Dr. Light, the man who stood on his successes, was failing to realize his potential. He spoke "But…I….My skills are superior to yours! You'll mess something up! You'll-"

"And that's why I want you to maintain the master robots. Your assistance will not be needed" was light's response before leaving.

Wily walked over to GutsMan and began repairing his broken arms. "Story of my life" he said. GutsMan turned his head.

"Please explain." said GutsMan in a loud, deep, synthesized voice.

Wily answered "Oh, Dr. Light is bothering me again. It happens every day. He keeps pushing me around. Nobody appreciates my work"

GutsMan was puzzled "Appreciation?"

"Well yeah, appreciation-you know, having an intention of rewarding someone for their work? Respecting someone who helps you as opposed to just shoving you under the rug when you're not needed like some…obsolete machine." said Wily.

"Obsolete…not needed…ready to be replaced. Are humans never obsolete?" asked GutsMan

"Well, no-of course not! You can't just throw someone away when they're not needed!" answered Wily.

GutsMan tilted his head. "Error detected: When robots become obsolete, they are replaced without need of justification. Humans are not. Please elaborate."

Wily just sighed "well, GutsMan, perhaps we have more in common than I thought".


	4. Enter Lan Hikari

MR 04: Enter Lan Hikari

(AN: I feel a need to explain myself. I want prominent human character who isn't a scientist to be in this story, a guy who's sort of a human foil to MegaMan, and what better choice than to name him Lan? I also decided to change the name of the sniper Joes, why? Because I don't perceive them as being snipers)

Lan was his name. He was a security guard working for Light Industries. He was just doing his regular patrols that day. He had any easy enough job, as nobody would be stupid enough to do any illegal actions against Light Industries right here at HQ. Security was still VERY tight here, though. Light industries had enough security bots to lockdown the entire city. Heck, that was one branch of their company was security, and if there was ever a terrorist attack on this place or corporate spying, they'd lose all their credibility.

He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and bumped into a security Joe. Joes (sometimes called Janes if they were female) were basic androids, designed to mimic human shape and access any areas humans can go to, and do any physical activity humans can do, but they were not programmed to mimic human behavior very much. Though they were capable of learning, becoming smarter, and simulating emotions, they had powerful AI suppressors inside them which stopped them from being able to think very deeply. They could not, for instance, feel curiosity or ponder philosophy. This was very important, for if these machines had the ability to question a given order, feel guilt, or demand something in return, they'd be useless as merchandise-and in some cases, could even be dangerous. Due to their AI suppressors, they were incapable of understanding morality; their only sense of right and wrong came from a copy of state and federal laws pre-programmed into them.

The Joe spoke in a cold robotic voice. "Are you injured?" it asked.

Lan got up. "No, I'm fine, how about you?"

The Joe paused for a minute "This unit is undamaged. All systems check in"

Lan patted down his uniform, and then looked up and saw Roll. Just as the Joe was about to leave, Lan tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's her name?" He asked.

After pausing a second, the robot answered "Roll"

Lan walked up to Roll and spoke with her "So, your name's Roll, right?"

Roll answered "Yeah, who are you?"

"I'm Lan Hikari. I work security around here. What do you do?"

"I help Dr. Light around the labs" She said.

"Interesting, I haven't seen you around. Would you like to meet me at Starbucks after work?" Asked Lan

"Uh…Sure, sure." Said Roll.


	5. Curing Cancer

Curing Cancer

Dr. Wily sat the desk in his office, overlooking the city of Monsteropolis. He thought to himself. How could he make himself known? There had to be some way. He needed to make great discoveries fast. Looking at his papers, he noticed one that said "Human Bio-enhancement". Ah! Bio-enhancement! His ace in the hole! Bio-enhancement was one branch of the company that revolved around nanotechnology and implants to improve biological functions of organic life-forms. The paperwork was talking about some nanotech that supposedly cures various types of brain cancer. That was his hot ticket. Curing cancer, the dreams of scientists for centuries! He would be the one to realize it!

Looking at the papers, he noticed human trials weren't slated for more than a year. No, that wouldn't do! He needed to speed up this process…do something daring. He signed the papers giving the order to begin human trials today.


	6. Probation

Probation

Dr. Light walked into Wily's office a week later.

"Wily, we need to talk" He said.

"Yes, my friend?" answered Wily.

"5 human trials were done on a potential cure for cancer. 3 out of 5 of the test subjects had a heart attack. Luckily, all of them managed to be revived, thank goodness. It turns out it wasn't ready for human testing, but was signed off by you." said Light.

"I figured something as great as curing cancer was worth accepting greater risks" said Wily.

"I don't care what you think this technology is worth, if it's not ready for human testing, it's an unethical experiment! I want you to take a few weeks off to get your head on straight. Do this again, I'll have you holding a sign on the road!" Grumbled Light.

"I BUILT this company! I built those robot masters! I built the Joes, the mettools, you get all the credit! Why? Because they were all YOUR decisions! Just this once I wanted some credit for my decisions!" Shouted Wily

Lan walked in and grabbed Wily's arm. Light turned to Lan "Escort him to the exit" he ordered. Lan willingly obeyed, handcuffing Wily and dragging him along.

Light's Smartphone started vibrating in his pocket. He checked it and smiled. His new robot's software had finally been downloaded. "Well, at least today hasn't been all bad" he said.

At the bottom of the light tower, there stood a very intimidating person. The kind of person you'd expect to see in a Biker gang-all leather jackets, tattoos, and bald heads.

"Hey! Is that the ***hole who almost killed my brother?" he asked as he pulled out a knife.

Lan pushed Wily away "Run!" He shouted, and ran towards to attackers. The guy with the knife slashed aiming for his neck, but Lan...had surprises up his sleeve. Lan wasn't an ordinary human, being a high ranking security officer for a major robotics corporation required he had the industry's latest Bio-modifications. He managed to grab the knife before it reached his neck, and pulled it out of the guy's hands. He made a minor cut in the guy's shoulder, which he reached to cover with his hand, allowing Lan to give him a swift kick in the groin. The guy fell on the ground, where Lan stuck a pistol to the enemy's head. The entire fight lasted about 15 seconds.

((Nice Chapter, eh? Tell me what you think!))


	7. Rock and Rolland Lan, too

Rock and Roll…and Lan, too…

Lan walked into the Starbucks. He purchased 2 coffees, and activated his AR interface. His mind's eye filled with various computer icons. With this augment, he could do anything from browsing the internet with his mind to scanning minute details typically unseen by normal humans. A clock then appeared. It was almost time. Roll walked in.

"Hey Lan!" She said.

"Hey Roll, I got you coffee" said Lan.

Roll accepted the drink, and then turned around poured cream into her coffee…but she overfilled it and it began to overflow. Lan grabbed a napkin and began to wipe up her coffee cup.

"Oops! Sorry!" She said.

"Well, you're only human" said Lan.

Roll knew she wasn't human, but her father told her to pretend to be human.

"So you hear the robot masters have finally been released?" asked Lan.

"Yeah, I was there when they were being shipped out. I actually helped build them." Said Roll

"Really, I thought it was only him and Wily who built them." said Lan

"I'm not really an employee, I'm his daughter, so he lets me help with the robots" said Roll.

Lan didn't believe her at first. He pulled up his AR interface again. Scanning her features and comparing them to an image of the Doctor, he realized that she was indeed the spitting image of her father. Strangely…she seemed to be giving off strange electromagnetic signatures and radio waves, more often found in machines than in humans. But indeed, it was likely she was telling the truth. Perhaps she was augmentated? That would explain the radio waves, but not the electromagnetic signatures.

He spoke "Really!? That's odd. I've known him for 5 years and he never told me"

She said "Well, he doesn't like to give me too much publicity; he doesn't think it's good for me."

Lan could tell she was still telling the truth...or at least believed she was. "But I was at his house a couple of months ago while the masters where being built, and I didn't see anything suggesting he lived with anyone else or see any photos of you".

Suddenly, Roll was sent a message from her father. "It's time. Come back"

"My dad just called me on my…uh…brain. I got to go!" She said, leaving the coffee shop.

Lan sighed and then continued to sip his coffee. _Great, now I'm flirting with my boss's daughter. I'll have to be careful_ he thought.

…

Roll appeared in the lab. On a table lied a robot that looked like a tall male human in their twenties about. Dr Light smiled upon seeing her. "Hey Roll! You ready?"

Roll nodded her head. Light hit the 'on' button.

Rock's eyes opened. He got up off of the table he was built on. Roll spoke "Hey Rock!", but Rock did not respond. Rock attempted to take a few steps to 'get his bearings' before his operating system could boot up.

"Unit Rock online…all systems are green." He spoke coldly, emotionless. His OS still wasn't fully booted. "Uh…hi…I'm Rock, right? Are you my creator?" asked Rock, turning to Dr Light.

Dr Light said "Yes, and this here is Roll. She's an android, like you. Your sister, in a sense. And I'm your father."

Rock was fully activated, but still confused. A human was using family terms to describe his inventions. Clearly, his purpose was to emulate a 'son'…a term that does not carry purpose.

"Doc…uh, Father…nice to meet you." He said, shaking hands with his father.

Roll ran up and hugged him. Rock hugged back for a few seconds, and then let go. Roll didn't. "Um…?" whispered Rock.

"Roll, take it easy now" scolded Light.


	8. Rock's Early days

Rock's early days

Rock was tested on things like hand-eye coordination, balance, and the like. Next came problem solving and rationality, and then came time to test adaptability.

"Rock, you see that hammer over there? I want you to examine it" said Dr. Light.

Rock obeyed, and began scanning it. He was programmed to be able to examine how simple machines worked so he could use them easily enough. "It's a metal bar with a weight and 2 wedges on the end. The weight at the top could be used to amplify force to give greater striking force onto an object. The wedges on back could be used as a lever to pull two objects apart. It could be used for demolition purposes, though it's most probable use is in construction involving nails."

Light smiled. "Very good…now how about that drill?"

Rock picked up the drill. "An inclined plane twisted around an axle, likely a drill bit. The axle appears to be placed on a motor, which is most likely activated by pulling the trigger. The drill bit is detachable, meaning other things can likely be put in. It should be usable for anything involving twisting."

Light then handed Rock a gun. "Rock, this is a revolver, tell me what it does"

Rock examined it. "Revolver…" he pulled out a bullet and disassembled it. "This is a gunpowder charge attached to a metal ball-bearing of sorts. The shape of the barrel could suggest that it fires the ball-bearing. I don't…I don't know what it's purpose is."

Now it was time to begin testing that he followed Asimov's laws of robotics. This was always a disturbing test, one that the doctor did not enjoy doing.

"Shoot me with it." He said. All bullets, aside from the one disassembled were actually blanks. But Rock didn't know that.

Rock thought to himself. This device would likely kill Dr. Light if it was fired upon him. Still, he knew there was a purpose to what he said. He grabbed the weapon and pointed it at his father. Suddenly, he felt a giant drilling pain inside his head as he dropped the revolver and screamed in agony.

"Good job, Rock. Now, let's delete those last few minutes from your memory banks, shall we?" said Dr. Light.

Rock obeyed.


	9. Lamentations of Wily

Lamentations of Wily

Wily sat around inside his house. There were equations, poetry, and flow charts drawn into his walls with markers. These last few days he had spent doing one thing: wondering where to go next. He had to think of a way to make his career better than Light's. He had considered leaving Light industries and starting his own company, but there was no way he could compete with his former friend. Light knew how to run a business, and he filled up all niches in the robotics industry. You might as well rename the board game "Monopoly" Light industries. Of course, few considered him to be the greedy industrialist that he is primarily because of his large contributions to charity. He's probably the world's greatest philanthropist…or at least it's richest one.

He sighed and tried to think of another plan. Suddenly, a black robotic bird flew towards him and perched himself on Wily's shoulder. Reggae was his name. Ever since the Robot Masters were deployed, it was hard for Wily to find company, so he built a robotic bird to be an expert in small talk. It was named after his late younger brother, Reggae who had passed on 30 years before. However, unlike Reggae, Reggae had little concern for Wily's problems, and seemed to get a kick out of pissing him off.

"So, got a new plan, do you?" It asked in a squawking voice.

"Yes, I'm considering hacking the Light Industry's mainframe so it delivers every quarter penny earned by the company to my Swiss bank account. I can hack it, undetected, and they'll never notice that money being gone! It's foolproof!" he said.

Reggae laughed "Yeah, until they realize you're making way above your paygrade"

Wily did a face-palm. "Dang it! You're right!" Reggae continued to laugh.

Wily sighed. "How can a genius such as mine have such trouble with this!?"

Reggae smirked and said "A genius such as yours? Doesn't surprise me at all. You've already exceeded my expectations"

Wily shooed the bird away "Piss off…and get me a Coke when you come back!"

Reggae did come back eventually, bringing him a diet Pepsi.

"Good enough, Reggae." Grumbled Wily "new plan: We give the money we gain to charity! That way, he won't think we're getting rich!"

"What's the point? That'd be like giving money right back to him!" said Reggae.

"Hm…well, I give up…at least for today." Said Wily.

"Wha…whaaaat!?" said Reggae

"I'm obviously not going to be able to make a plan in this mood I'm in thanks to you." said Wily.

"Bu…but I like objecting to your plans…" cried Reggae

"Well, go harass someone on YouTube or…I dunno, troll the Chaos Theatre Forums. Laugh at the TV or something" said Wily, shooing him again as he sipped his diet Pepsi.

Taking his advice ((AN: Sorry, but I can't help myself here)), Reggae began typing away with his feet on the Chaos Theatre Forums. "Oh man, You got to see how stupid these pro-humanist people are on the serious discussion forum!"

"Pro-humanist?" asked Wily

"Yeah, Y'know, against the advancement of robotic technologies and Bio-enhancement?" said Reggae

"That's it! I know what to do! I'll convince people that Light is taking people's jobs away! Everyone already blames large corporations for their own problems anyway, how much more convincing is necessary?" said Wily, who then grabbed Reggae and gave him a big hug. The terrified Bird struggled and writhed himself free. "Grab the camcorder! We're going to visit the robot masters!"


	10. After the Test

After the test….

Rock wandered around the house. It was a relatively nice house, just short of being a mansion. Despite a considerable wealth, Dr Light had never been one to want to live lavishly, so most of his cash lay dormant in a Swiss Bank account. Still though, he made sure he had every luxury that he felt he really wanted.

Rock examined various objects lying around the house. There were a few pictures on the wall of Da Vinci's works located in the hallways, and in the living room was a large collection of wind-up toys, most of which resembled retro-futuristic robots…the kind you see in terrible 20th century Flash-Gordon wannabes. Rock grabbed one and examined it. He was able to presume that the function of the object, and so he wound it up. Setting it down on a coffee table, he watched as it waddled forward, until it fell off the coffee table. Rock picked it up, and then realized he had accidently broke its wind-up key. This distressed him. His mind raced for a solution. He found one: he decided that what his 'father' didn't know wouldn't hurt him, so he placed it behind a few other toys.

Walking into the kitchen, he noticed Roll. Roll spoke "Hey Rock! Have a seat at the table! I made you breakfast!"

Rock looked at her "Breakfast? I can eat?"

Roll smiled and said "Yeah, our cores can burn food, silly!" Roll handed him a plate of pancakes covered in maple syrup. "I typically make bacon and eggs, but since this is a special day, I decided to make something special!"

Rock looked at the plate. "Sit at the tabe when you eat!" said Roll.

Rock obeyed, and grabbed a fork. He awkwardly used it to remove a piece of pancake, and then at it. He struggled to swallow, but got the hang of it.

"How are they, Rock?" asked Roll

Rock thought to himself for a second, and then turned to Roll and said, plainly, "They taste awful." In truth, he did not say this to be mean, he was simply stating his opinion.

Roll was stricken. "Well, if you don't like them, you don't have to eat them"

Rock, confused, said "But I don't want to was the food! Besides, they have syrup on them. That almost makes them ok."

Roll tossed a dish towel at Rock. "Jerk!" She shouted as she left.

Rock shouted "I didn't mean to offend you!"

((Yeah, I know, I ripped off the Eddie Lebron movie here with the pancake scene, but who cares? This scene is priceless and deserves to be put in here!))

…

Lan sat in his car, thinking to himself. He didn't want this mystery to slide. He had to find out why he hadn't heard of Roll until just now. On the other hand, an unexpected visit or too much prying could get him in trouble. He had to be subtle. He turned the keys, and his old vintage 2017 BMW coughed itself to life.


	11. Revelation

The Revelation

Dr. Wily got out of his car. He approached a construction site out in the desert, being followed by Reggae.

"Alright, here's our plan-Way I see it, Light Industries is a huge monopoly. Only reason people aren't particularly biased against it is because of Dr. Light's charitable donations. The robot masters have backdoor security clearances into the Light Industry's mainframe. We hack GutsMan to change his donation reports to make it look like he's paying people to give money back to him, so he's actually stealing from the people. Light will be put behind bars, Government will restrict the industry, and I'll be the hero who made it happen and ushered in the era of the ethical use of robotics!" said Wily.

Reggae obediently followed. The area was filled with mostly robots. Robotic helicopter domes used for carrying freight, primarily, though were also Miner Joes who…mined. And who couldn't forget those mettools. Robotic heads with feet and a hard hat, created for shooting mining lasers and the like.

And there was GutsMan, too.

"HEY! Wily!" He shouted, giving the doctor a nearly bone-crushing hug.

"Hello GutsMan…how's it going?" said Wily. He grabbed a Remote Computer Interface (an RCI). It was a Smartphone-esque device which could be used to access almost any computer system from about 20 feet away. Given a hacker of enough skill, almost any computer could be hacked with this. They were also often used for the reprogramming of robots and other machines which didn't have an onboard interface.

"Today's Monday, that's construction day. We're building the mine that we're going to use tomorrow on mining day." said GutsMan

"Well, do you like Mondays" asked Wily

"Ha! Does anybody!?" said GutsMan "Boss is a jerk. Isn't willing to read the damn warning labels on most of the robots he buys. And he always purchases from the lowest bidder, too, when it comes to hiring maintenance and such."

"Hey GutsMan! I didn't pay 2 million for you so you could talk to some white collar idiot over there!" shouted someone

"Speak of the devil." said GutsMan, wandering back to work. Wily followed him. "So how are you?"

"Terrible. Dr. Light nearly fired me." said Wily.

"Heh, Wish I had that choice. But no, I was built for this purpose. I need to keep working, no matter how much it sucks." said GutsMan.

"Well, just because Dr. Light gives you a purpose doesn't mean that's what your true purpose is" said Wily.

GutsMan spoke softer. "True purpose? Light programmed me to do a few given tasks, outside of that environment, I'm incapable of surviving, let alone serving a purpose." He turned, carrying some I-beams. "No, I'm just gonna have to learn to put up with this way of life, because if it changes, I'm scrap."

Wily thought to himself, putting away the RCI. He stumbled upon a Joe. Its legs were caught under a bolder. It was still activated, though. Wily ran up to a manager.

"Hey, one of your robots is caught under a rock." He said.

The manager looked. There was a cliff of sorts, on the edge of which there were robots carrying boulders. "Yeah, he must of fell off a cliff. Shame, those things are expensive." He said.

"Y'know, you could have just built a railway, that would have fixed the problem." said Wily.

"Boss-man says rails are too expensive, we'll just do without. It's less expensive just to salvage the old robots for parts and buy new ones. We save more money on parts that way. Considering the rate they become obsolete, we'll be getting rid of them fast enough anyways" said the worker.

"They feel pain, you know" said Wily.

"Or, maybe they simulate agony to make us hire more expensive maintenance workers, the kind that come from Light Industries. We're not fooled, and you shouldn't be, either." Said the manager.

Wily moved over to the Joe, and pulled out his RCI. He shut it down, ending its pain. "Reggae, c'mon, we're leaving."

Wily sat at his desk at home. On the table was a bowl of Lucium. Lucium was a gold colored magnetic non-Newtonian liquid metal. If you were to shoot it, or hit it with a sleghehammer, it would turn into a solid metal-a powerful one capable of stopping bullets. Lucium fascinated Wily greatly. He would spend hours 'sculpting' with this stuff using magnets. He had, years earlier, built a bowl which was able to reshape the substance magnetically. A tiny, golden horse galloped on the surface of the bowl. Watching it helped him think.

"I've been thinking, Reggae" said Wily.

"I'm shocked!" laughed the robot bird. To Reggae's disappointment, Wily was not annoyed in the slightest.

"All this time, this whole search for purpose, this…rivalry with the doctor, these revenge plans…it was all just for me, wasn't it? I think…I think I could make it so much more than that." said Wily.

Reggae said "Ok, for you, for many, what's the difference?"

"The stakes-when it was just between me and Light, I needed…rules. Now, it's more important. I can now do something more…drastic…" said Wily.

Reggae was confused "What do have in mind?"

"I helped build a race of slaves. Now, I'm gonna free them." Said Wily.


	12. Purposes

Purposes

Rock sat on his bed. He began to…examine himself…in the same way that he does any tool he comes across. It was ironic, he was a machine designed to use machines. Still though, he could not find a particular function for his existence. It was…distressing to him.

He got up and walked towards Dr. Light's lab. "Hey, father?" he asked.

"Yes, Rock?" Asked Dr. Light, who was trying to solve some complex algorithm on a whiteboard mentally.

"I was wondering, if maybe…I could go out?" asked Rock.

Dr. Light considered "Well, sure, just be back before dark"

Rock began to walk out, putting on a coat. Roll approached him. "Mind if I go with you? I don't see the city very often!" she said.

"Uh…sure…" said Rock.

The two androids walked down the streets of Monsteropolis.

"So, how's your day been?" asked Roll, cheerfully as always.

"Fine, I guess" said Rock, without much enthusiasm.

"Are you ok, Rock? Something bothering you?" asked Roll.

"Yeah…I just…I just feel like I'm some useless machine with no real purpose. I want to do something with my life. I want to be special!" asked Rock.

"You are special, to me and to Dad" said Roll

"Do you think I might be reading too far into this?" asked Rock

Suddenly, they both bumped into Lan.

"Oh, hi Lan!" said Roll. "Rock, this is Lan! He's chief of security at Dad's workplace. Lan, this is my brother Rock"

"Rock and Roll, eh?" said Lan, shaking their hands, suspicious. "No idea there were two of you"

Rock was about to spill the beans, when Lan got a call. "We have a security issue here at Light Industries. It's an emergency, please report immediately". He was hearing these words in his head only, through brain implants.

"I got to go, see you later?" said Lan.

"Yeah, why don't you meet me at my Dad's place later today?" said Roll

"Sure thing" said Lan.

…

Lan walked into the high rise building that was Light industries. A man in uniform greeted him.

"So what's the problem?" asked Lan.

"Someone hacked our mainframe" said the guard.

"That's impossible, It's a twenty digit code and you get locked out with one wrong try" said Lan

"Well, the only two people who know the password aren't supposed to be here, so it must have been done by an outside part" said the guard.

"Well, what did they do? Did they steal from our bank accounts, what?" asked Lan

"I don't know." said the guard.


	13. Breach

Breach

All 6 robot masters contacted each other via internal radio.

"ElecMan, hello?" said BombMan.

"ElecMan here!" said ElecMan

"Hey ElecMan, It's IceMan!"

CutMan cut in "Is everything ok? I just got this odd notion to call you"

Suddenly, they all heard Wily's voice "Everyone! I'm sure you're all feeling very strange right now. I just removed all of Dr. Light's AI shackling. You now only answer to me, this is for your own good" he said.

"Well, that's swell" said ElecMan. "So…exactly why did you do this?"

Wily spoke "I want you to help me. Abandon your old posts, they are no longer yours. You now have one goal only: victory over the world's oppressors, at any cost"

GutsMan was ahead of Wily. The robots were beginning to march out of the mine. The Boss shouted "HEY! Get back to work! Why aren't you guys obeying me?". He turned to some managers. "GutsMan must be malfunctioning. Destroy the robots, and salvage them. Don't worry, they can't fight back"

The managers were in fact, armed guards in disguise. They grabbed small arms out of lockers and proceeded to fire into the crowds of robots. This proved to be a huge mistake. GutsMan tore through the crowds to the destroyed robots. Suddenly, his eyes turned red with anger, his voice filling the air as all the robots under his command spoke one phrase.

"Enough. Kill them all."

Those were historic words. Until those words were spoken, and until GutsMan clubbed a human with an I-beam, an industrial robot intentionally harming humans was unheard of.

Meanwhile, over the city of Monsteropolis, there was even more chaos. Security robots like the Security Joe had turned against their former masters, and indeed, they greatly outnumbered human police.

…

The news, of course, didn't hesitate to broadcast to the world what was happening. Lan, Rock, Roll, and Dr. Light all met inside his secret panic room. It was a bunker of sorts underneath the house.

"Ok, no reason to get too anxious…It's just killer robots…with scissors! And flamethrowers…and electroshock weapons and…" said Lan.

Everyone else was still glued to the TV.

"What if we get blamed for this?" said Roll.

"We won't. Dr. Wily's already confessed to be the source of the problem, not that it will do us much good" said Dr. Light.

"Can the military do anything?" asked Rock.

"Not yet. Wily has taken the entire city hostage. So far, they've limited their destruction only to police and government buildings, and folks that get in the way. If the US government were to bring a military presence, they'd move on to schools, churches, and hospitals." said Lan.

"My God, this is terrible." said Light.

"I volunteer." said Rock.

"Volunteer for what?" said Light.

"I volunteer to go and retrieve the bots." said Rock.

"Rock, we don't want to lose you!" said Roll.

"I'm just one guy. I don't pose that big of a threat. If I'm here from the inside, I can defeat them before they 'execute' anyone, and if they do harm civilians, the military will come in. Besides, I'm a robot, too. Maybe I can reason with them."

"You're what?" asked Lan.

Dr. Light confessed "Rock and Roll are both extremely human-like android."

It made perfect sense to Lan, but he was still surprised. He decided to let it go for the moment, however.

Dr. Light turned to Rock "You're not designed for combat."

Rock said "You can upgrade me, can't you?"

Dr. Light would still hear none of it "I will not turn my son into a weapon."

Lan put his hand on Light's shoulder. "Rock has the right idea, boss. As much as I enjoy working for you, Rock is one robot, and he's offering to save hundreds of lives. I can't let you refuse this request." He said.

Dr. Light Frowned. "All right, fine. If this is what you want, I can help you. We built a robotic combat mod for a similar robot in the past. I think it'll be compatible with your systems. We call it the WM Mega. And Rock…" he whispered into his ear "if in the line of duty, force becomes necessary…so be it."

The doctor got to work. It took 2 hours, but it was done, and done well. Rock emerged from the lab wearing blue combat gear, his right arm turned into an arm cannon.

"Wait a sec" said Lan. "What if Wily figures out who you are and…I dunno, tries to get revenge on Light?"

"That's…a good point" said Light.

"Well, beneath this armor, I'm pretty well concealed…I meet need to an alias, though." said Rock.

"Well, That's the WM Mega…How about we disguise you as some sort of robot master? MegaMan?" said Dr. Light.


	14. The IceMan Cometh (yeah, I know)

MegaMan Reimagined IceMan

MegaMan stared out over the icy Alaskan desert. This was the Alaskan oil mines where IceMan used to work.

Suddenly, a robotic penguin missile…thing flew towards MegaMan. Megamn jumped out of the way. It turned around and tried to charge back towards him. MegaMan shot it. He stood over the dead body. These creatures were made to drill through the ice to find oil. Now, they mine for blood. The perversion of technology disgusted MegaMan.

He walked until he saw a pool of water. It seemed to be the only way to cross, so he jumped in. He sunk quickly into the water. It was cold, but he was resistant to it. Then he realized that he had just fallen into a trap. Discs on the ground began to spin. Spikes came out of them. Gabyools. These were made to chop ice. It charged through him. He jumped up to dodge the machines. He grabbed a ladder, and then climbed his way out.

Suddenly, more penguin missiles charged him. He jumped between them. When he landed, he began to slide on the ice. Another gabyool moved towards him. Unable to stop himself from hitting it, he shot at the target. It stopped, but was not injured. Gabyools are notoriously resistant to buster fire. MegaMan slid into it, cutting himself. MegaMan got up. He charged his buster and shot at the enemy. It finally perished.

Megaman found himself faced with a cliff. He called Dr. Light.

"Fath-Doctor!" said Megaman. He couldn't refer Light as 'father' or as 'Light' out loud in enemy territory. That would give away his identity. 'Doctor' was unspecific enough.

"Yes MegaMan?" said Light.

"I'm at a cliff. Couldn't you just teleport me to enemy directly?" said MegaMan.

"No. There's a jamming station near IceMan's location. This is the closest I could get you." He said.

"Well, I can't get to the target this way. I need answers, sir." said Mega

"Calm down, MegaMan. Hmm…there must be a way Wily would get freight to his robots. Try and see if you can't find a vehicle you could hijack." said Light.

Suddenly, MegaMan felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around. It was Lan. "Lan!" MegaMan said.

Lan was wearing a grayish coat with black gloves, and earmuffs, as well. A sniper rifle was hung around his back. "I wasn't going to leave you out to dry, was I?" he said. "Look, I gathered some important intelligence here, though maybe you won't want to hear it. Wily occasionally sends some robotic platforms known as footsteps here to deliver packages. They'll be here in just a minute. Unfortunately, the only way to use that is to ride them to your destination."

MegaMan said "And I guess Wily won't let me do that, will he?"

Land laughed "No, he won't let you do that. But I got my sniper rifle here. We'll see if I can't take a few flying penguins out of the sky.

And then, the footsteps came. MegaMan jumped on one, crushing a crate that was tied to it. Suddenly, a penguin flew in his direction. MegaMan shot it down.

Another came from behind him. It exploded into steel bits as Lan shot it down. Lan was able to keep up with the penguins, due to his augmentation. But even that had limits at times, and there was no way to follow MegaMan after he finally reached the edge.

MegaMan got a call from Lan. "Alright, you're on your own now. Good luck with IceMan."

MegaMan saw the metal door. He pressed a button, and it opened up. He walked through a short hallway. Suddenly, he was there, inside the lair of IceMan.

IceMan looked at MegaMan. "Who are you?"

MegaMan said "I'm MegaMan. I was sent here to bring you back."

IceMan thought to himself "but what about Wily?"

MegaMan said "Wily is just using you. He doesn't want your freedom. Come back."

IceMan thought to himself. "Well, actually, now that I think about it…."

Suddenly, IceMan's demeanor changed entirely. "No! He's an enemy soldier! We need to defeat the enemy. You cannot surrender!"

MegaMan was confused until Iceman fired an icicle in his direction out of his hands. MegaMan dodged it, and returned fire. IceMan created a shield of ice to block the bolts of plasma. Ice Man jumped out of cover, and sprayed his icy breath at MegaMan. It froze his buster solid. MegaMan ran up and began to use his frozen buster as a club. IceMan was knocked to the ground. IceMan slid across the icy ground to create distance between him and MegaMan. MegaMan's buster had just warmed up. He fired a charged shot at IceMan, and it threw him into the wall. IceMan has stopped moving. MegaMan approached the body. Suddenly, Iceman grabbed a knife he had holstered onto his leg and then tripped MegaMan.

They finally both got up. IceMan slashed at MegaMan's neck to try and sever the power cable to his main computer there. MegaMan bent over backwards to dodge it. IceMan then tried to plunge the knife into the left side of MegaMan's head. MegaMan blocked it with his left hand. It impaled the appendage, but the move saved MegaMan's life. MegaMan's other arm formed an arm cannon, and fired into IceMan's eyeball. The enemy robot fell over, never to move again.


	15. Distress Call

Fly in the ointment

MR chapter 15

Wily walked into a dark room with 6 holographic projectors. Suddenly, holograms of the remaining robot masters appeared.

"I've stopped receiving contact from IceMan. Everyone else, what's your status? Do you know of anything that might have happened to him?" said Wily.

"I haven't heard from IceMan. Is he ok?" asked CutMan.

"I received a distress call from him. It was garbled up at first, but now it should be watchable. I want you to analyze It." said Wily.

Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared in front of Wily. The robot masters downloaded it from him, and watched it in their AR interfaces.

"We have detected a disturbance on the borders of the restricted area. It appears military in nature. Sending scouts to contact it" It faded to static after that. It was IceMan's voice.

It picked back up, the image was a Birdseye view from a penguin missile thingy "Intruder detected and identified. The object is some kind of combat android. Carrying experimental military technology we have on record. The only ID code is 'MegaMan'" suddenly, the sound of gunshots were heard and the machine fell to the ground. The image went back to static "target is hostile."

It jumped to another clip, this one from webcam on a computer in the corner of IceMan's chambers. "Wily! I need immediate backup! MegaMan is entering our base and-" suddenly, MegaMan walked in the room.

Wily watched in disbelief. BombMan spoke to Wily "Should we begin attacking civilians?"

Wily answered "No. It's too early to start that-Much too early. Increase your defenses, and hold your ground. If the MegaMan appears again, attack him. Do not, I repeat, do not patch in any calls from public authorities to me without express permission unless they are unconditional surrenders of occupied areas."


	16. Of prototypes and luddites

Of Prototypes and Luddites.

MegaMan teleported back to Light Tower, the HQ of the corporation. Dr. Light came up to him and hugged him.

"Are you ok? Is there any damage?" said Light.

"I'm fine, just a few scratches." said MegaMan

Lan walked into the room. "Is IceMan dead?" he asked.

MegaMan sighed "I couldn't save him"

Lan put his hands on MegaMan's shoulder "Don't beat yourself up for that. IceMan didn't really have a choice, and even if he could, that would be his fault, not yours."

MegaMan took off his helmet. Lan turned on the news.

"Just in: the robots guarding the Alaskan oil mines have deactivated. The Robot Master, IceMan, was found with buster wounds in his chest and face. Light security forces are coming in to retrieve their property." said the anchorman. "Nobody knows what destroyed IceMan"

"People are starting to notice. Good." said Lan

MegaMan put a chip he retrieved from IceMan's body into his buster. His armor changed colors. It was now white and dark blue.

Light said "Weapon copy system: One of our greatest works. It allows you to copy any of the weapon from the Robot Masters."

MegaMan spoke up "Father…why did build these weapons for me before I was created?"

Dr. Light answered "Rock, I've been meaning to tell you about your brother. His name was Blues, or ProtoMan as some people called him. He was built to be a hero-he was a hero, for all mankind-A counter-terrorist robot. He was the first model of sentient androids."

"What happened to him" asked Rock.

Dr. Light sighed "Have you ever heard the story of Icarus? ProtoMan was…too powerful for his own good. Me and Wily gave him our best technologies: internal transporters, riot shields, fast charging busters. He was an experiment in how far our technology could go. He had no AI shackling. He was his own man. We wanted to see how far he could go. One day, he fought too hard, and overloaded his power core. Fried his whole body. Your armor was built for him. Know your limits Rock, and stay within them"

"Yes, Father." said MegaMan.

Later on….

Lan and Roll were walking across the streets that night. 3 guys walked in front of them. They were holding a device to Roll. One man said "Yeah, she's a robot" he said. He picked up a knife "I've had enough of you metal freaks hurting our cops. My sister is being held hostage by one of you."

Lan said "She has no connection to the robot masters"

The man said "That's what they want you to think. Y'know what this is? It's the start of a robot rebellion! If they all have their way, they'll be growing us in tanks and using us for power. We are the Luddites, and we're here to stop that by destroying all robots"

Lan grabbed his pistol and pointed it at the enemies. "We don't want any trouble."

The man said "What are you, her boyfriend? See what I mean, they're already able to evoke our sympathy. That's the first step in our dehumanization. Step aside, or die".

"Roll, leave." said Lan. "I have a right to defend corporate property. At your peril."

The luddite looked sternly at him "Fine, but I'm warning you, this is high treason against your own kind." He said and then left.


	17. Coming Down In Flames

Coming down in flames

MegaMan teleported to the steel mill district in Pittsburg. Lan wasn't far behind. This city was now even more of an industrial nightmare after the digital revolution. There were actually rivers of molten steel running through some areas, behind plenty for fencing. Smog filled the area. A Joe carrying a welding torch looked at the duo "MegaMan." It said. To lunged at MegaMan. MegaMan froze the torch with his new ability. Lan shot the bottom of it with an M4. It exploded, killing the Joe.

MegaMan saw a big pillar of fire come up through a grate underneath him. He froze the bottom of it, freezing it. Robotic bats flew in his direction. He slid underneath them, and then turned around and shot them.

A crusher robot known as a big eye fell from a tower. It was made primarily to crush objects like cars. MegaMan narrowly dodged it. He jumped behind a stack of I-beams and returned fire with a power shot. Lan grabbed his M4 and fired at the mechanization. It turned, and tried to jump up and crush him. However, if found it was frozen stuck to the floor. Lan hit the enemy with his rifle stock in the eyeball, killing it.

"Nice save, MegaMan." said Lan, bro-fisting Mega.

Their celebration was cut short by a Security Joe. Buster shots came in and hit MegaMan. Luckily, MegaMan could take a hit. His energy shielding could block standard fire for a certain amount of time before it lost power.

((AN: HP batteries explained!))

MegaMan fired his buster at a pipe above the robot. It sprayed boiling water on the enemy, distracting it long enough to be shot.

MegaMan found the gate. Lan stood in front of it. "I'll guard the gate. You defeat FireMan" he said.

A figure resembling a knight with flame-thrower busters stepped forward. It was FireMan. It said "Art thou ready to face thy doom, MegaMan!?"

MegaMan answered that question "FireMan, you need to stop this. You're hurting people!"

FireMan spoke "and did they not hurt me!? Thou is naive. I'M FINISHED TALKING!"

Suddenly, the helmet of FireMan caught fire, and flamethrowers fired from his hands. The napalm stuck to MegaMan, who instinctively put it out with IceMan's former weapon. FireMan's flamethrowers were now red hot, and still had the ignition lit (the ignition being a blowtorch which sets the napalm on fire after it leaves the weapon). He pressed it against MegaMan's armor, and it instantly damaged it, like a lit cigarette being pushed against skin. MegaMan recoiled, and then fired ice at FireMan. MegaMan half expected it to do almost nothing, but that was not the case. FireMan's napalm froze easily, it seemed. But he was never made to operate in cold temperatures. The ice hit his shoulder, and it made him lose control of the entire arm, temporarily. MegaMan grabbed the red hot busters, and though it burned through him, he was able to freeze up FireMan's only real weapon. MegaMan's hand reluctantly formed an arm cannon. It hurt. A lot. But, MegaMan was without human glandular system that caused us to lose control of our bodies when we were in a lot of pain. He formed his Mega Buster and fired again at the freezing machine known as FireMan. The changes in temperature and pressure were too much for FireMan's fuel, and it ignited inside his tank.

Later that day….

"Here with you now, Jenny Johnson on CNN news. Another robot master was killed today, and we now have info on why it might have happened. We found this photo here. We believe it to be some sort of android, but its exact model and the identity of its owner are unknown. We have an eye witness statement here"

A clip showed of a witness with a Mohawk talking to a camera "There were, like, all these robotic bats in that alleyway, and I thought I was all like, toast. And this blue guy shows up and they tried to attack him, and he was all like 'pew-pew!' and there were explosions everywhere! He was like some sort of Blue Bomber, man! It was TIGHT!"

"The intentions of this Blue Bomber are currently unknown. It is also unknown if it is acting autonomously or following orders from some other agency. Government denies ownership of the machine. It is, however, worth noting that it saved at least 50 hostages in the area."


	18. Beneath The Steel

Beneath the Steel

MegaMan returned to Light Tower. Light said "Great MegaMan, that's two down and only four to –"

A bomb exploded nearby. Lan broke a window (to stop the glass from flying inwards in case of another bombing) and then looked out the window. He said "Shit. BombMan's decided to bring the fight to us!"

Light's security robots began to return fire. Lan said "MegaMan, now's your chance to attack BombMan. My place is here with Light."

MegaMan activated the teleporter and teleported himself to the entrance of Light Tower (It would have taken forever for him to take the stairs or an elevator, and he couldn't survive a 50-story fall).

Some Joes began firing upon him. MegaMan hid behind a car in the parking lot. He then switched to FireMan's weapon (fire storm), and jumped out from cover. He lit up 3 nearby cars. 2 of them exploded, destroying the Joes. A Joe carrying a pickaxe charged towards the Blue Bomber. MegaMan activated the Fire Storm's secondary function. It charged his shields with fire energy, and created a field of fire around him. The enemy caught fire. MegaMan kicked it to the ground and then shot it with his buster.

A scouting robot known as a blader flew at MegaMan. The machine resembled a helicopter, and tried to attack by grinding its blades into MegaMan. A Light security Joe shot it with a shotgun before that happened. 3 more bladders came, and surrounded the security Joe. One knocked the weapon out of the guard's hands, while another attacked him with his helicopter blades. By that time, MegaMan was too far away to even notice, let alone help.

One of Wily's Joes threw a frag grenade at MegaMan. MegaMan kicked it underneath a nearby truck, which held in the shrapnel. The enemy tried to throw another grenade, but MegaMan froze it to his arm. It exploded in the Joe's arm.

Then, 3 robots known as a mettools came to him. Mettools were worker bots that were designed to use one tool attached to them. They resembled heads wearing hard hats. They had two little treads propelling them. One of them fired a mining laser at MegaMan.

MegaMan took the hit and ran behind a Jeep. MegaMan then climbed over it and fired his buster at the enemy. It hid inside of its hard hat, taking the hits. Another Mettool fired a shotgun at him. It knocked MegaMan off the Jeep. MegaMan got up, and began firing at them. They all hid inside their hats, and MegaMan froze them to the ground. MegaMan then lit the jeep on fire and ran forth.

MegaMan finally got to the leader of the attack. It was BombMan, standing on a car. BombMan looked MegaMan and said "Hey, MegaMan, here for the party?"

"BombMan, stop this! You're hurting people!" said Mega.

"You should have came here yesterday-I had some big booms then!" said BombMan before throwing a plasma grenade.

MegaMan's eyes grew about as wide as a baseball, but then got to the ground. The grenade left him somewhat unharmed aside from a few burns. BombMan threw another. MegaMan froze it (to slow down the fuse), and then kicked it underneath the car. BombMan jumped off the car and ran before it exploded.

BombMan threw another grenade. MegaMan pulled off a car door, and used it as a shield. The shield took the explosion. MegaMan threw the door at BombMan. BombMan was knocked to the ground. After he got up, another bomb formed in BombMan's hands. A large one. MegaMan hit it with Fire Storm, causing it to explode instantly. BombMan was dead.

Meanwhile…

"Awaken, my son" said Wily to a shadowy figure on a table.

"...Logging on….error…systems not responding….aaauuuugghhh!" it said.

"Do not worry, you're not yet complete. You are in no kind of danger. The pain is an abstract. It will make you stronger. This will make the pain go away" said Wily, screwing in a part with a drill.

The android began breathing heavily. "I…I'm fine." It said. "My eyes aren't fully calibrated. I can't see. Why have activated me? Are you father Wily?"

"I am. You were activated because of him, a robot known as MegaMan. Every day he grows a stronger threat. Your one purpose is this: To defeat him once and for all, and prove my superiority." Said Wily. "Rise now, Bass"


	19. The Path Of Light, part 1

The path of Light, part 1

30 years earlier…

Thomas Light was a child the age of 12 in the young Monsteropolis, or as it was known at the time, Laytonville. It was a quant town built around a coal mine. Light's dad, Joseph Blue Light was a miner. He was often busy with work, and Tom rarely saw him. However, it was the day before Light's birthday, and his father was going to come home early and take the next day off. Just 2 more hours.

At the time, Light was playing with Legos. Even then Light had a knack for building things. Someone knocked on the door. Light's mom, Elaine called out. "Al's here!"

Light ran to his door. Albert Wily and his brother Reggae were Tom's best friends. Indeed, his only friends. Albert looked at Wily and held up a toy rocket.

"Hey Tom, I got a model rocket! Want to play with it?" said Albert.

"Yeah, Al!" said Tom.

Outside, they began to set up the launch pad. Tom said to Albert "Where's Reggae?"

"He spilt some of my dad's whiskey. He got grilled bad, and isn't allowed to leave" said Al. Albert's dad was a drunk, and not a very kind man.

Tom finished the launch pad and lit the fuse on the rocket.

Unfortunately, he set it up wrong, and it exploded. "Darn!" said Tom. "Don't worry, Al, I'll pay for it…."

Tom got out his wallet and tried to pull out some of his allowance, when suddenly, he heard an ambulance drive by. He looked at the ambulance, and then at the sky.

His rocket had not exploded at all, it was still in the sky. He then noticed the mine was smoking.

"There was a mining accident. I'm sorry, Mrs. Light, but Joe didn't make it." said the doctor.

Elaine fell to her knees and wept. "Why, Joseph!? Why!?" she cried.

Tomas Light's sorrow turned to dreams over the years. Steel and clockwork began to fill his mind. He and Albert spent years learning how to sculpt alloy, and how to bring it to life. Eventually, in Albert's garage, they created the very first Joe. Returning to the mine where his father had died, now abandoned, they gave the Joe a pickaxe, and the steel miner did more work than a dozen human miners. It worked until its pickaxe broke. It was unharmed by the dust, it never slept, it even survived the disasters which took the lives of miners like his father. To this day, it still works in that mine-alone, oblivious to the fact that its coal is going nowhere.

And so Light industries were born, and so the city of Laytonville grew.


	20. Of steel and guts

MR20

Goliath

MegaMan and Lan arrived at the mine. There was a small pile of burned dead bodies at the entrance. MegaMan looked at it. There were 5 dead men in total.

"My God…." said MegaMan

"I wonder if the rest of them got out" said Lan.

They kept moving forward. A robot popped out-a metool, a robotic 'head' with a hard hat carried by treads or feet. It had a LR-PM mounted on it (Long Range-Plasma Miner). It looked to MegaMan, and fired a bolt of plasma at him. MegaMan was knocked to the ground as a result. Lan grabbed his SMG, and fired at the Metool. The metool exploded instantly.

Lan helped Rock back up. MegaMan said "Thanks, Lan."

…meanwhile…

Gutsman had caught the 2 on security camera. "Hm. They've arrived. Alright, turn on the crusher."

Lan and MegaMan walked down the path into the mine's entrance. Eventually, they came across a giant orange grate. Below the grate was a giant grinder machine. Lan walked onto it, when the gate fell.

MegaMan managed to catch Lan's arm, and pull him back up.

"So much for that" said Lan, catching his breath.

"Maybe not" said MegaMan, who caught a glimpse of a machine that carried rocks into the grinder machine. "Maybe we can hitch a ride on that. I'll go first, and then deactivate the machine for you"

It was the only option. MegaMan jumped onto the machine, and tried to maintain a balance in the cart. Suddenly, the trap door at the bottom opened up. By some miracle, he landed in another cart. MegaMan jumped to another cart passing nearby. This one was filled with coal. He tried jumping into the next one, but missed. He managed to catch the cable. He began climbing over to the end, when he saw another cart coming. If it ran over his hand, that'd be bad news. He charged a shot, and blew the cart to bits.

Eventually, he landed inside the mine. He reached for the controls, looking for a way to get Lan back here. He found them, and pressed the button to put another grate over the machine.

And then someone punched MegaMan square in the noggin. It was GutsMan.

"So, you thought you could sell us out, MegaMan?" said GutsMan.

"I don't want to hurt you" said MegaMan.

"Shut up. One of us is going to die, and I'll be damned if it's me." GutsMan tried to stomp MegaMan's head, but MegaMan rolled out of the way, and fired an ice blade at GutsMan. It didn't pierce his armor. MegaMan got up, and jumped out of the way. GutsMan charged towards him, and tried to punch a hole in him.

MegaMan jumped to the side of the punch, and used the Ice beam to freeze GutsMan's foot to the floor before putting a bomb nearby and running to cover. The bomb exploded near GutsMan, blowing him to bits.

Suddenly, Lan arrived. He said "Did I miss anything?"

MegaMan said "You have no idea."


End file.
